INDIANAPOLIS — So much of the New York Knicks’ improbable postseason run — from their 21-0 run in the fourth quarter to storm back and beat the Detroit Pistons in their playoff opener, to Karl-Anthony Towns’s dominant 20-point fourth quarter in Monday’s Game 3 to lead a come-from-behind win over the Indiana Pacers — has been predicated on the team’s ability to dig out of deep holes.
And if they’re going to somehow make the NBA Finals, it’s going to require the Knicks to climb out of at least one more massive one.
New York stumbled out of the gate defensively Tuesday, surrendering 43 points in the first quarter and a near-triple-double to star guard Tyrese Haliburton in the first half. It was a sign of things to come. And even though the Knicks stayed within striking distance, ultimately, they couldn’t collect enough stops to stage a comeback and catch the Pacers, losing Game 4, 130-121, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
With the defeat, New York now trails Indiana, 3-1. It means the Knicks would need to defeat the Pacers — who haven’t lost back-to-back contests since early March — three straight times to reach the NBA Finals.
The Knicks managed to get the game within six in the closing minutes, leaving everyone wondering if they would do the unthinkable again after entering the final quarter trailing by double-digits. But New York wasn’t solid enough this time — especially not on defense — as Haliburton and Pascal Siakam took over down the stretch.
“In true fashion to our whole playoff run, we put ourselves in a deficit, got ourselves out of the deficit, and then usually we feel good about us going into a close game in the fourth quarter and showing our resilience. But you get burned if you put yourself in that position too many times,” Towns said. “We think coming into the fourth quarter that we’re going to find that one trick again. We just didn’t have that magic tonight.”
Several Knicks outlined the challenges that come with facing these Pacers.
More than most clubs, they make you pay for turning the ball over. New York has learned that the hard way throughout the series, and did so again Tuesday with 17 miscues –five from wing Josh Hart alone –that Indiana cashed in for 20 points.
Beyond that, there’s the mental task of guarding Rick Carlisle’s up-tempo team, which forces proper defensive rotation after proper defensive rotation; a process that picks clubs apart for the tiniest back-end mistake.
Between the Knicks using a relatively new starting five and them having different sub patterns because of early foul trouble, Indiana’s found easy baskets repeatedly when it capitalizes on those missteps.
“I think it’s difficult for any team [to stop]. You can stop one action, but then it’s the next action and the next action,” Hart said of defending Indiana’s attack, which shot 51% overall and 40% from three. “If one domino falls … that one person’s mess-up is messing up the whole possession. Obviously they’re running good stuff, but we have to make sure that we’re physical and locked in and just make it tough for them.”
It wasn’t as if the Knicks didn’t have offensive success of their own. They enjoyed plenty. Jalen Brunson and Towns combined for 55 points — and had 19 trips to the line — on 50% shooting from the floor. OG Anunoby became a second-half focal point offensively in the paint, and had an efficient 22-point night of his own.
But the flipside was revealing: Haliburton and Siakam combined for 62 points and also shot 50%. (Haliburton had a historic playoff stat line, becoming the first player in postseason history to log 30 points, 15 assists and 10 boards without a single turnover.) Pacers reserve Bennedict Mathurin also had 20 points, and he only needed eight shots to get there.
Brunson, who’s been hunted by Haliburton and the Pacers on defense throughout the series, owned that he has to be more effective there. “I’m not doing enough,” he said. “There has to be a difference on my part when it comes to that.”
Towns then said the entire team has a responsibility to defend Haliburton better.
“It’s not just him. It’s all of us,” said Towns, who carried a heavy limp into his postgame press conference after a left-knee injury late in the fourth. (He remained in the game after it happened.) “We all have to do a better job of making it more difficult for each of them to score.”
The Knicks will get their chance against Haliburton and the Pacers again Thursday, knowing if they don’t get the job done, they’ll have all summer to think about it; individually, and as a team.
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